Grooming a Bulldog, like virtue, is its own reward. The more dead hair you remove from your dog, the less you need to remove from the furniture, the rugs, the car, your navel, or your clothing.
Although Bulldog’s coat is short, Bulldogs do shed, and unlike ordinary dog hair, which lies where it lands, Bulldog hair penetrates any available fabric. Once this happens, ordinary vacuum cleaners are powerless against Bulldog’s hair’s tenacious grip. Nothing short of a 95-horsepower, fuel-injected model can begin to deal with entrenched Bulldog hair.
You should be able to keep your Bulldog and your furniture looking well groomed if you brush the former two or three times a week. Ordinarily Bulldogs are not opposed to being groomed if you set about the task with the right treats and the right tools. Before you begin grooming your Bulldog, lay out the implements you will need. Your selection will depend on your purpose-routine maintenance or a red-carpet makeover.
A well raised Bulldog puppy should not object to being groomed, but if grooming is a new experience for your Bulldog, begin to get him used to it as soon as he is comfortable in his new surroundings. Keep grooming sessions short – five minutes or so at first – and space them two to three days apart until your puppy is used to being brushed and groomed.
Choosing a place for grooming your Bulldog is a matter of personality. Type A personalities tend to favor regulation grooming tables from a pet supply store, and there is much to recommend such devices, including ease of cleanup and a built-in, nonslip surface. On the downside, unless you have $800 to spend on a hydraulic grooming table, you are going to have to lift your boy onto the grooming table and off again. More laid-back personality types just grab a brush and start grooming while they watch television, others toss a rubber mat on top of the clothes dryer, or the kitchen table, and some people living in a warm climate use a table on the back patio.
No matter where you choose to do it, grooming a Bulldog does not require a painter’s touch, but there are a few techniques to be mastered. Always brush with the lay of the coat. Do not push down constantly on the brush; move it across your dog’s body smoothly with your wrist locked.
Grooming young puppies and some older dogs may require that you wield the brush with one hand while you steady the dog with the other. If so, place your free hand on the puppy’s chest while you brush his back and sides, or place your free hand, palm up, on his underbelly while you brush his hindquarters or neck.
A Bulldog’s legs are brushed or combed downward with short strokes. To groom a Bulldog’s tail, hold it gently by the tip and brush or comb softly with the lay of the coat. As you brush your Bulldog, look for flea dirt, skin rashes, bald spots, and other irregularities in his coat. If you find flea dirt, a flea bath and/or an application of a tropical flea fighter is in order. Skin rashes or bald spots suggest a visit to your veterinarian, who can assess the problem and prescribe treatment.
